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Congrats to Jennifer, who won Packing Leather (Sun, Sea & Submission #1) by Kim Dare! (I never heard back from the original winner, so…)

Congrats to Maya, who won Ashton and Justice by Stephani Hecht! Ashton and Justice will be released by Amber Allure on August 7.

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Reading Update
His Faithful Servant (Knight Errant #2) by KD Sarge. ebook. Excellent m/m scifi romance continuing the story of Taro and Rafe as they leave Taro’s sister’s ship in order to make their own way. While Knight Errant was told from Taro’s point-of-view, this one’s told from Rafe’s… and he’s not quite as focused as Taro. 🙂
Gathering Storm by Lyn Gala. ebook. Excellent kinky m/m romance about the submissive son of a wealthy man who’s been fascinated by one of his instructors since he was in military school several years before. But in his insecurity and neediness after not getting what he wants, he makes a very poor decision… that could cost him his life.
Swept Away by Sloan Parker. free ebook short. Excellent free short m/m romance about lawyer, part of a couple who’ve celebrated their anniversary the same way for 15 years, who’s dreading this year’s anniversary celebration.
Surrender by K. Piet. ebook short. Very good kinky m/m short about a Dom who finds himself very drawn to another Dom doing a public scene at a club party… and then finds his core assumptions about himself challenged. If you’ve ever been annoyed by a smug Dom story, you’ll appreciate this chance to see a smug Dom shaken to his core. 🙂
Blind Items by Kate McMurray. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a liberal gay journalist who finds himself attracted to and then involved with the deeply closeted son of an ultra-conservative, anti-gay Senator running for President. Since he’s not willing to go back into the closet and the Senator’s son is too terrified to come out… The only thing I didn’t like about this one was the somewhat abrupt ending, although I appreciated that there wasn’t an epilogue. Perhaps a sequel? 🙂
Wanting by Piper Vaughn. free ebook short. Very good free short m/m romance about college student Laurie who’s taken by surprise when his best friend’s younger (18-year old) brother informs him that he wants Laurie to take his virginity.
Hourglass by Jane Davitt. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a Hollywood producer whose 11-year old daughter falls in love with his tv series Hourglass, which only lasted two seasons, ten years ago. Under pressure, he agrees to make a follow-up movie, then has to get the estranged stars to agree to be in it… and hope that they’ll get over hating each other and recapture some of their previous chemistry.
Prise de Fer by AR Moler. ebook short. Very good short m/m paranormal romance about a chemistry professor who’s attracted to one of his former students, with no clue that the student is a werewolf. And there’s fencing in this story, which was a fun flashback.
Hanging Loose by Lou Harper. ebook. Good m/m romance about a straight guy from the Midwest who moves to LA after college to escape winter. When he ends up stranded overnight at Venice Beach, a friendly surfer gives him a place to sleep for the night and changes his life.
Appearing Knightly by JM Cartwright. free ebook short. Fun short free m/m story about Batman rescuing a naked guy and being strangely excited by him…
Packing Leather (Sun, Sea & Submission #1) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Good kinky short m/m romance about a guy who wins a weekend away at an exclusive resort and invites his office mate to join him.
Modeling Death (Hidden Magic #2) by Amber Kell. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a centuries-old wizard who runs into a model at a club and realizes the model is his fated mate. Too bad someone’s out there, killing models…
Hitting It Big by Shawn Lane. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about Billy, whose brother drags him to a party celebrating his brother’s friend Mitch winning the lottery… Mitch, the guy to whom Billy lost his virginity to years ago in a one night stand. I had a couple of niggles about this one.
CatNap (Middlemarch Mates #8) by Shelley Munro. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about an amnesiac tiger shifter who’s rescued by two other tiger shifters (brother and sister) and becomes part of their family. But what if his bloody, fragmented dreams are actual memories?
Del Fantasma: Toasted Almond by Sharon Maria Bidwell. ebook short. Ok short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who always feels cold arriving at the bar Del Fantasma and running into a guy who suddenly makes him feel warm. I found the writing frustratingly dense.

“Why do you say I have anime eyes, Mom? I have Mayhem eyes!!” -Mayhem

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Linkity lounges about lazily

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Congrats to Laura M, who won Blind Items by Kate McMurray! Blind Items is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Contests

  • Nicole’s giving away some of her lovely handmade cards. You can enter daily and the winner will be announced on August 1. To enter, leave a comment with a song to lift Nicole’s spirits, or let everyone know that you need your spirits lifted, too.

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Reading Update
Dance With Me by Heidi Cullinan. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about two men who’ve both lost (or given up) something they cared about and been living half lives ever since. It’s also about learning to accept and deal with chronic pain/injury/illness. Plus the story takes place in the Twin Cities; in fact, Laurie’s condo would be a ten-minute walk from mine. 🙂 Recommended.
A Matter of Time, Volume 1 and A Matter of Time, Volume 2 by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about an architectural assistant who inadvertently witnesses a organized crime-related murder and then meets a straight police detective who keeps turning up in the oddest places. I read this story when it was released a few years ago, in its original and unedited ebook form. It was a delight to reread it all without the editing issues detracting from the story.
Bridges by M.J. O’Shea. free ebook short. Very good free short m/m romance about two guys who got off on the wrong foot with each other in grade school and remain enemies throughout high school. Then they end up working together at the grocery store as overnight stockers…
Breaking Point by S.L. Armstrong & K. Piet. free ebook short. Very steamy free kinky short m/m scene between two lovers.
Shadowed (Treasured #2) by Cari Z. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance in which Arcane Studies PhD student Daniel and his occasional lover Rhys head to Venice for Daniel’s winter break. Things start out well for them…
Family Unit by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good m/m romance about two very different guys in their mid-40s (one a retired marine, the other a liberal raising his grandson) who get off to an awkward start, but then slowly grow to know each other better. While I enjoyed this one more than the other ZAM titles I read this week, I felt it suffered from a similar problem with the ending – the story stops, with many questions left unanswered, and then an epilogue is tacked on… an epilogue that doesn’t answer the questions. 🙁
Rhapsody for Piano and Ghost by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a 19-year old pianist who’s brilliant musically, but very naive interpersonally. Then some well-meaning ghosts move in and start “helping” him with his social life…
All Stirred Up (Stir #2) by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good m/m romance about the “evil” twin brother of one of the main characters from Stirring Up Trouble, who’s struggling with escalating PTSD. An intervention by his board of directors and his twin have him heading for rehab in the company of a very unusual doctor. I found the ending of this one very frustrating – it felt as if it just stopped, rather than providing closure, and the epilogue did nothing to assuage that.
What Child Is This? (Crossing Borders #2) by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good holiday m/m romance about how getting away from it all for a relaxing holiday weekend doesn’t always turn out as one might hope.
The Truth About Al (Rocky Mountain High: Campus Hearts #2) by ML Rhodes. ebook. Good m/m romance about the son of a conservative politician whose family is pressuring him to present a “suitable” (i.e., straight) image so as not to damage his mother’s run for Senate.

“No, I’m not stuck. I’m just… thinking.” -Mayhem

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  • Some eloquent thoughts from Naomi Clark and Jennifer Armintrout on Laurell K. Hamilton‘s recent tweet that seems to trivialize mental illness and getting treated for such. (Thanks to Nicole for the initial link to Naomi Clark’s post!)

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Reading Update
Zero Hour by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook. Very good m/m cyberpunk/dystopian scifi with a dash of romance. I think, with the very best scifi, you can see how things got from here to there without much trouble… and that is definitely the case with this story. Ernest is 30 and his one-month long retirement has started, at the end of which he’ll be demagnetized and reclaimed. His very first stop is an actual coffee house (nearly unimaginable in a world where nutrients are provided intravenously via permanent shunt), where he meets Will, who is very unlike anyone else…
Lines in the Sand by Lyn Gala. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a driver for the mob who turned informant. He removed himself from witness protection and is back in his home town, working, when the former mob enforcer (and former friend) shows up…
Moving Miss Probert by Kim Dare. free ebook short. Cute free short m/m romance (inspired by a photo I took in San Francisco) about two guys with a moving van.
Muscling Through by J.L. Merrow. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a big, muscular, tattooed guy who’s very sweet, if not very bright, and how he met his boyfriend, who’s the complete opposite. It shouldn’t work…
Red Velvet by Angelia Sparrow. free ebook short. Very fun free short scifi m/m story about an amnesiac alien leading an anger management retreat.
Ranger’s Folly (Lost Shifters #12) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a Wolf shifter who can’t stop thinking about the elusive long lost Eagle shifter twin after meeting him for only a few minutes.
Sockeye Love by Sarah Black. ebook. Good m/m romance about a photographer who usually avoids attachments, but becomes involved with young law student he met while photographing salmon in Alaska. This is told as a series of scenes several months apart and, as a result, felt choppy, making it hard for me to connect with the characters.
For One Night Only by Anne Brooke. ebook short. Good kinky short m/m story that consists of a flashback, then a single bdsm scene. Things are left very open at the end. While this was very well written, I felt distanced from the characters and story.
The 51st Thursday by Mercy Celeste. ebook. Good m/m romance about a bartender/bar owner who’s been watching a guy come in every Thursday evening for the past 50 weeks. On the 51st Thursday, when the guy shows up late, he gets stranded at the bar with the bar owner because of a hurricane… My major complaint with this book was pronoun confusion.
Jaynell’s Wolf (A Wizard’s Touch #1) by Amber Kell. ebook. Ok m/m paranormal romance about a wizard arriving at wizard college after the death of his father and meeting a very forceful werewolf… This definitely drew a lot of inspiration from Harry Potter.
Kevin’s Alpha (A Wizard’s Touch #2) by Amber Kell. ebook. Ok m/m paranormal romance about a student wizard, terrified of commitment, who finds himself strangely drawn to the alpha werewolf.
Dylan’s Dilemma (Kindred Spirits #5) by Jude Mason & Jenna Byrnes. ebook. Ok m/m paranormal romance about Cade’s brother, Dylan, who’s taking care of the inn while Cade and Ethan are on their honeymoon. Dylan doesn’t believe in ghosts, but he’d sure like to figure out where that little girl in the nightgown lives so he can talk to her parents about her showing up at the inn in the middle of the night, causing a disturbance…
The Surveillance Detail by Derek Adams. ebook short. Ok short gay fiction about a cop who’s sent undercover to get close to a crime lord’s younger brother, even though the younger brother has no ties to the crime lord. This was basically just stroke fiction.
Witches (The Written Word #1) by Jamieson Wolf. ebook. So-so m/m paranormal romance about a man who can see beings that no one else can see. Because of this, he must protect those beings from an evil man. This didn’t draw me in at all… and every time I hit a pronoun tangle, I amused myself by picturing things happening exactly as they were being described. O.O

Thanks to Eyre for pointing out the stats function on Goodreads (it’s in the “My Books” dropdown)! I’ve read 415 books in 2011, and here’s how they’re distributed (click to embiggen):

“Is it time for dinner yet? No? How about now? No? How about now?” -Chaos

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A very Potterity linkity

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Congrats to SueM, who won Knight Errant by K.D. Sarge! Knight Errant is available for $0.99 through July 31 at Smashwords.

Congrats to Susmita, who won Ranger’s Folly (Lost Shifters #12) by Stephani Hecht! Ranger’s Folly is being released by eXtasy Books today.

Congrats to Renee, who won Dark Sun by M.J. O’Shea!

Congrats to Julie, who won In the Shadow of a Hero by Anna Mayle!

Congrats to Amy, who won the Tea and Crumpet anthology, donated by Clare London!

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  • *snicker* (Thanks, Lea!) (Possibly NSFW, although it is from USA Today…)

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Reading Update
Masochism 101 by Kim Dare. free ebook short, although you’ll need to be a member of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group to read it. The prompt for this excellent kinky short m/m romance was a guy photographed midway through falling in the bathtub…
Trust Me (Cover Me #2) by LA Witt. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a cop who’s ready to break up with his boyfriend because he suspects his boyfriend has been cheating on him, but what’s really been going on is a helluva lot more complicated. You also get to see how things are going with the guys from Cover Me.
And To All a Good Night (Life Lessons #1.5) by Kaje Harper. free ebook short. Very good short free holiday-themed m/m mystery that takes place a few months after Life Lessons, right before Christmas, as the out teacher continues to recover from his injuries and learns to deal with dating the deeply closeted cop.
Dirty Kiss by Rhys Ford. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a former cop, now PI, investigating the apparent suicide of a prominent Korean businessman when he becomes fascinated by the businessman’s disgraced cousin. Hopefully there’s a sequel… and I’d love to get more of Bobby’s story.
Again by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who was devastated when the love of his life, a CIA agent, suddenly left him for someone else, without knowing that their surrogate was pregnant. It’s five years later when he runs into now-former CIA agent… I have to confess that I wanted to smack Dante more than once – he was such a steamroller! I wanted him to stop and actually listen. 🙂
Accidentally in Love by Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a photographer who’s definitely a player, engaging in a non-stop string of one-night stands. When he rents part of a house from a goodhearted computer geek with crappy self-esteem, he decides to help the geek finally get a guy of his own. So why is he unhappy when his plan works? As others have mentioned, the first part of this book was excellent. The last part of it got bogged down by sex and lack of direction.
Tea and Crumpet by UK MAT. ebook collection. Very good collection of United Kingdom-themed GLBTQ short stories, from contemporary to paranormal to historical. I was delighted to discover that there was a Cambridge Fellows short from Charlie Cochrane! And I absolutely love the cover. 🙂
One Night by RJ Scott. ebook. Good m/m romance about a deeply closeted guy who’s convinced that two men can’t have a loving relationship, only a sexual one, so he’s engaged to be married to a woman so his adopted daughter will have a stable home.
Finding Forgiveness (Poconos Pack #1) by Dana Marie Bell. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a wolf shifter who suffers from debilitating migraines and has no idea why the guy destined to be his mate avoids him at all costs.
Clay’s Challenge by Cassandra Gold. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy going through a crisis in confidence about how he looks after someone he met online isn’t interested in dating him because he’s “too fem.” So he decides to go on a wilderness adventure and prove to himself that’s not the case. (Main character Clay was actually a minor character in Quinn’s Hart.)
Bicycle Built for Two by Jeff Adams. ebook short. Good short, completely angst- and conflict-free m/m romance about two guys who meet during a charity cycling event to raise money for HIV/AIDS research.
From Pack to Pride (Supernatural Mates #1) by Amber Kell. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a wolf shifter whose alpha brother sends him to stay with a pride of lions in order to keep him safe from a hostile wolf who wants to kill him. (Ok, Tam, you were right – I liked it better than Hellbourne!)
A Prideful Mate (Supernatural Mates #2) by Amber Kell. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a lion shifter who sees a picture of jaguar shifter on a shifter dating website and knows the jaguar shifter is his mate. Now he just has to convince his mate to stay… and keep his mate alive.
Not in Kansas by R.G. Alexander. ebook short. Cute short m/m fantasy roughly based on the Wizard of Oz.
Salad on the Side by Karenna Colcroft. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a vegan who doesn’t realize he’s living among werewolves until he’s bitten and changed. These were probably the most long-winded werewolves ever – there needed to be a lot less talking in this book. Hopefully the obviously planned for sequel will be less chatty.
The Male Room by Carolyn Levine Topol. ebook. Ok m/m romance about two best friends, one who’s just been kicked out by his boyfriend and the other who’s just been fired, who decide to start an online GLBT dating service together. I need to remember that this author’s stories are too sugary for me…
Semi Precious Weapons by Clancy Nacht. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about two models in New York City who hook up and hit it off, but then things get messed up between them. This book definitely needed a bit more editorial care – a couple spots were so tangled that I couldn’t sort out what exactly was happening.
Joy & Pain by Celia Kyle. free ebook short. Ok kinky short m/m romance about a stripper who meets and is attracted to an older big bear of a man. This book needed better proofing: “illicit” instead of “elicit”, “spurn” instead of “spur”, etc.

“You know what would hit the spot right now? A crunchy bug. Yum!” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Erica Pike, who won Last Chance Ranch by D.G. Parker!

Congrats to Nikyta, who won Before He Cheats (Perfect Timing #7) by Kim Dare! Before He Cheats was released by Total-E-Bound on July 4.

Congrats to Becky W, who won One Night by RJ Scott! One Night will be released by Silver Publishing on Saturday, July 9.

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Reading Update
The Psychic’s Tale by Chris Quinton, The Soldier’s Tale by RJ Scott, & The Lord’s Tale by Sue Brown (The Fitzwarren Inheritance Trilogy). ebooks. Very good paranormal m/m romances reminiscent of the Nora Roberts trilogies that involve a different couple getting together in each book, all as part of breaking a curse or fulfilling a prophecy. Chris Quinton, RJ Scott, and Sue Brown have done something similar here, skillfully creating the m/m version of the three curse-breaking couples.
Before He Cheats (Perfect Timing #7) by Kim Dare. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a guy who gets really insecure after someone tells him that he can hardly expect his older, richer, dominant boyfriend to be faithful to him. Poor Leon! I really wanted to give him a hug.
Sealing the Deal (Sex Sells #1) by Kim Dare. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about a contract negotiator who, after completing his work for a design company, is ready to get to know his now-former employer much, much better.
Oleander House (Bay City Paranormal Investigations #1) by Ally Blue. ebook. reread. Good paranormal m/m about a group of paranormal investigators staying at Oleander House, trying to find the reason behind mysterious deaths in and disappearances from the house. I first read these two years ago and they were some of the first m/m books I read. Now I’m wondering if I was just so used to reading m/f that a lot the things that frustrate me now about the books seemed normal then. I really wanted to smack Bo throughout most of this book.
What Hides Inside (Bay City Paranormal Investigations #2) by Ally Blue. ebook. reread. Very good m/m paranormal romance which finds the BCPI team adding a sexy new guy and investigating mysterious disappearances at a local high school. The interdimensional portal aspect of these stories feels very Lovecraftian to me. And, fortunately, I found Bo much less frustrating in this book than in the first.
Twilight (Bay City Paranormal Investigations #3) by Ally Blue. ebook. reread. Very good paranormal m/m romance in which Sam, Bo, and Dean investigate a possible interdimensional portal at a primitive and remote mountain resort. If Bo’s paranoia has put you off the previous two books, this is the book where that changes for the better.
Closer (Bay City Paranormal Investigations #4) by Ally Blue. ebook. reread. Good paranormal m/m romance which finds Sam and Bo on vacation as Bo becomes increasingly erratic and obsessed with the nearby fort the rest of the BCPI crew is investigating.
An Inner Darkness (Bay City Paranormal Investigations #5) by Ally Blue. ebook. reread. Very good paranormal m/m romance in which Sam and Bo struggle against Bo’s ex-wife in order to help Bo’s son control his potentially dangerous telekinesis.
Where the Heart Is (Bay City Paranormal Investigations #6) by Ally Blue. ebook. reread. Very good paranormal m/m romance focusing on Dean, who’s visiting friends out of state when he meets a guy he really clicks with and begins an informal paranormal investigation of an apparition in the guy’s house.
Love, Like Ghosts (Bay City Paranormal Investigations #7) by Ally Blue. ebook. reread. Very good m/m romance that takes place ten years after the events in An Inner Darkness. Bo and Sam’s son Adrian is at college, but remains distanced from those around him as he works to control his telekinesis. I actually got a little sniffly while reading this one.
Blind Pass (Blue Line Hockey #4) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good m/m romance about two closeted hockey players from rival teams who end up as roommates when teaching at a summer hockey camp.
No Apologies by Tibby Armstrong. ebook. Good m/m romance about a couple, one closeted, whose relationship is likely over because the other is tired of being a “dirty little secret.” Much of the story is told via flashbacks in the form of a semi-autobiographical film, making it hard to sort out what really happened. I’ll definitely read more by this author, although I’m hoping for a more straightforward narrative next time!
Jackson Square Jazz (Scotty Bradley Mysteries #2) by Greg Herren. Good gay mystery (with a titch of the paranormal) in which Scotty, now training to be a private investigator, manages to get involved in a case involving figuring skating, an historic fire, and a missing Napoleonic mask.
Mardi Gras Mambo (Scotty Bradley Mysteries #3) by Greg Herren. Good gay mystery (again with a titch of the paranormal) in which Scotty’s life goes spectacularly awry during the weekend before Mardi Gras. I must confess that I skim these every time they get a little too new agey for me. It doesn’t seem to make a difference. 🙂
Vieux Carre Voodoo (Scotty Bradley Mysteries #4) by Greg Herren. Good gay mystery with a hint of the paranormal that takes place three years after the previous book, in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Who Dat Whodunnit? (Scotty Bradley Mysteries #5) by Greg Herren. ebook. Pretty good gay mystery with a dash of the paranormal – this one manages to combine the New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl with a homophobic megachurch… It got a bit preachy at times. And a Prius turned into a Jag between chapters! Whoops…
Telling the Truth (Truth or Dare #2) by Lee Brazil. ebook. Good m/m/m romance about the second Blake brother admitting his attraction to the sexy twins introduced in the previous book and making major changes in his life because of it.

“That bird looks awfully tasty…” -Chaos

“That’s my tasty bird, big kitty! You have to find a different one!” -Mayhem

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Linkity from sweltering Minneapolis

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Congrats to Alex W, who won Equilibrium by Meredith Shayne! Equilibrium was released by Dreamspinner Press on June 24.

Congrats to Wendy, who won Blind Pass (Blue Line Hockey #4) by Stephani Hecht! Blind Pass is being released by eXtasy Books today.

No post on Monday, as it’s a holiday in the US. I haven’t decided if I’ll do the Misadventures on Tuesday or not. Probably not, because there are already three contests scheduled for next week. 🙂

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  • Back hair art… (Thanks?!, Bron!) (Best not to imagine what those photos would look like when viewed using Hairrrr…)

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  • Furry mice only have tails for about two minutes around here.

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Reading Update
Static by LA Witt. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about a guy who doesn’t realize his girlfriend is a shifter (able to shift between female and male) until after her extremely religious parents force her to have a gender freezing chip inserted, which leaves her stuck in her male form. This book really got me thinking on the complexity of gender.
In the Shadow of a Hero by Anna Mayle. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense about a guy who’s been on the street for a long time, as something of a vigilante, and a cop who starts to see the depth of the man behind the grime and bruises. This was complex and involving and will stay in my head for quite a while…
Convincing Leopold (Convincing #2) by Ava March. ebook. Very good historical m/m romance following up with Arthur and Leopold three months into their relationship, as failure to communicate is causing some problems. Far from frustrating me, that failure to communicate made everything feel very realistic – not a Big Misunderstanding, but the slow accumulation of stuff from everyday life.
Handcuffs & Pretty Things (Rawlings Men #8) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Good short kinky m/m romance about one of the Rawlings cousins who is not a cop. This needed to be longer!
Bourbon Street Blues (Scotty Bradley Mysteries #1) by Greg Herren. Good gay mystery about about an unrepentantly slutty personal trainer and go-go dancer who inadvertently comes across some information that someone’s willing to kill to retrieve.
Bear Like Me by Jonathan Cohen. ebook. Pretty good humorous gay fiction about a writer, fired from a trendy gay magazine, who decides to go undercover into the gay bear culture in order to gather material for a book. While the humor of this book just didn’t quite work for me, I believe it will for other readers – particularly those more familiar with real-life bear culture.
Let’s Get Familiar by Amylea Lyn. ebook short. Cute short paranormal m/m romance about a guy without any magical ability who’s feeling lonely because his witch mother and sisters keep scaring away his boyfriends. Then he rescues a giant black tomcat from a storm and tells it all his problems…
On My Knees by Tristram La Roche. ebook. So-so short m/m romance about a guy who, after a row with his wife, realizes he’s gay while talking with a guy he met at the gym. While I really liked the first-person narrator’s voice, the story was all over the place. Insta-love was the final straw.

“I do not have forehead ridges! Mom, what did you do to my fur?! I thought you were just scritching my head!” -Mayhem

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Linkity for a dark and rainy and workity week

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Congrats to Em Woods, who won Handcuffs & Pretty Things (Rawlings Men #8) by Kim Dare!

Congrats to Jennifer V, who won Telling the Truth (Truth or Dare #2) by Lee Brazil! Telling the Truth is being released today by Breathless Press.

Congrats to Midia, who won Static by L.A. Witt! Static will be released on June 26th by Amber Allure.

It’s been a busy, busy week at work and I’m behind in reading blogs, replying to email, and pretty much everything else, too! But I’m definitely going to Twin Cities Pride at Loring Park this weekend – will I see you there?

Contests

  • Sweet Vernal Zephyr’s having a vacation reading contest! Take a picture of yourself reading “on vacation” and submit it to her by September 23 for your chance to win a box of books (US winner) or a selection of her favorite ebooks (international winner).

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  • Tor.com on books within books, such as Seven-Day Magic by Edward Eager (which I can see on my bookshelf from where I’m sitting!). Read the comment to discover more titles.

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  • Use vinegar to deodorize a room. (As someone who gets migraines and asthma attacks from air fresheners, potpourri, incense, and other highly scented things, I’m definitely trying this.)

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Reading Update
Inside out (PsyCop #0.1) by Jordan Castillo Price. free online short. Very good free short m/m story about the first time Jacob saw Vic.
Sinnerman (Warder #4) by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a warder who’s not doing very well at all – he’s been taking too many chances ever since his hearth left him for another man. At least fighting with that pesky not-quite-a-demon’s been keeping things interesting…
Winterlude by Tam Ames. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about two guys who literally run into each other on a wintery Ottawa street and decide to get to know each other a bit better…
Deefur Dog by R.J. Scott. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a widower with a two-year old daughter and a giant, unmanageable dog who belonged to his late husband. Strangely, they’re having trouble keeping a nanny for longer than a few hours. 😉 Recommended if you’re looking for a sweet, non-instalove m/m romance with more story than sex.
British Flash by a whole lot of authors. free ebook collection. Delightful free collection of very short stories in a wide assortment of genres, united by the common theme of being British and gay (be it male or female). I did skip some of the stories that weren’t to my taste, but I really enjoyed the ones I read and wished many of them were longer – particularly the one about the rook shifter. 🙂
Sex, Lies and Edelweiss by J.L. Merrow. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy on holiday in the Alps with his adoptive mother who meets a cute waiter and misunderstandings abound.
Hot Head by Damon Suede. ebook. This book about two straight NYC firefighters, one of whom needs money so desperately that he does some gay porn, was a really mixed read for me. The first two-thirds of the book dragged enough that I kept wandering away to read other things. But I really liked the last third of the book – the pace felt better and the story drew me in so much that I couldn’t put the book down until I finished reading, well after my bedtime. 🙂
All Work and No Play by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a couple who are supposed to be heading out of town for a long weekend… Will the workaholic’s going in to work instead be the end of them as a couple?!
Vengeance Paid with Blood (Drone Vampires #13) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Pretty good paranormal m/m romance continuing the saga of the Drone Vampires and their wizard allies as a small group road trips to take out a dark wizard. Alas, the scene with the dark wizard was rather anticlimactic. 🙁
Passing Time by Ash Penn. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a guy who’s back in England after 20 years because his mother’s in a coma and dying. He hooks up with a college student and keeps his emotions at bay by talking to his dead lover. This just never came together for me, particularly the whole ghost/dead lover thing.
Smashed into Pieces (Clear Water Creek Chronicle #2) by Scarlet Blackwell. ebook. My major problem with this book was that it basically just took the love of a good man and some hot sex to cure ten years of emotional, physical (broken bones, burns), and sexual abuse. Oh, hell no.

…..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….. -Chaos

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Frazzled linkity feels flighty

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Congrats to Judianna P, who won Sinnerman (Warder #4) by Mary Calmes! Sinnerman is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Marie A, who won Just-You Eyes by Clare London!

Congrats to Kerstin, who won Deefur Dog by RJ Scott! Deefur Dog will be released by Silver Publishing on Saturday, June 18.

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  • Nine techy things made possible by IBM (which turned 100 yesterday). My dad (who was a computer design engineer for IBM for 30 years) said there’s a date error in this list, but I’ve forgotten which it was…

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Wha…?

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Reading Update
Knight Errant by K.D. Sarge. ebook. Excellent m/m scifi romance about a 16-year old being raised on a spaceship by his sister and her crew. He’s been trying to be who she wants him to be, but is quietly miserable. And then he meets a guy who completely aggravates him…
Life Lessons by Kaje Harper. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense about a high school teacher who finds the murdered body of one of his coworkers, then is questioned by (and keeps running into) a deeply closeted police detective. Plus this was set in Minneapolis! 🙂 I’m looking forward to reading more by Kaje Harper.
Lies and Consequences by Kaje Harper. free ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about an author pretending to be his lesbian best friend’s fiance so that her career in the Navy isn’t threatened. He’s so used to protective lying… can he even tell the truth anymore? (Stalker alert!)
The Night Porter by Sue Brown. ebook short. D’oh. How did I not notice this was a Bittersweet Dreams title?! Very good, but… *blots eyes*
Moments by R.J. Scott. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a badly behaved actor in a cable series who’s been busted for possession and ends up staying at a neighborhood resource center as part of  his community service.
Being Lead by Celia Kyle. ebook short. Very good kinky short m/m romance about a dancer who’s just retired and is at loose ends, needing his Sir to ground him.
Becoming His by Shawn Lane. ebook short. This was a sweet short m/m romance about a stripper and a bisexual television actor getting together. However, it felt incomplete to me. The whole groper subplot sort of stuttered out. And the ending felt somewhat forced and abrupt.
Car Wash by Shawn Lane. ebook. reread. Pretty good m/m romance about Kevin, who’s working at a car wash after getting laid off from his office job. I must admit that I got a bit frustrated at Kevin not standing up for himself.
Kevin’s Stories: Volume 1 (Car Wash #2) by Shawn Lane. free ebook short. Good free m/m romance containing two short stories following up on Kevin and Michael from Car Wash.
Kevin’s Stories: Volume 2 (Car Wash #3) by Shawn Lane. free ebook short. Good free m/m romance containing two short Christmas stories featuring Kevin and Michael from Car Wash.
Realize by Kerry Freeman. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a college senior who has a crush on his freshman roommate, but hasn’t done anything about it other than scare off anyone looking to get closer to his roommate.
Fugitive Color by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about a sleep walking artist whose muse has been murdered… and he’s pretty sure he didn’t do it…
Rite of Passage by Bryl R. Tyne. ebook. Ok m/m romance about an anxiety-stricken writer who moves to the Colorado Rockies for solitude and to hopefully get past his writer’s block. This was hard for me to rate, since I had a hard time with the writing style and never connected with the main character.
Emerald: Hey, Jealousy by B.A. Tortuga. ebook short. Ok kinky short m/m romance about two friends who are attracted to each other, but haven’t acted on it in a long time, due to a misunderstanding. And then something changes all that… This seemed to stop mid-scene, which I found annoying. And it read an awful lot like a Sean Michael title….
Possession by Jessica Skye Davies. ebook short. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a guy who brings home a cast iron Punch statue, then begins having odd accidents.
His Gentle Touch by Stormy Glenn. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a guy who meets a gentle (and very sexy) giant in a bar, then wakes up married to him without remembering what happened. Classic Big Misunderstanding plot. Fewer mistakes than usual!
Sexier When Wet by Eden Cole. ebook. Meh m/m romance about a wishy-washy guy who stays with his cruel lover because he’s afraid of being left out on the street with nothing. He’s pursued by a not-quite-as-cruel guy, who wants him to leave the cruel guy. So, as you may have guessed, my main problem with this one was the lack of likable characters… (Hi, Candy Cane Guy!)
Takedown by Stacey Kennedy. ebook short. Poorly written and edited short m/m encounter between a US Marshal and a bartender. Some examples: “Kiss for kiss, dominance filled the air until it was thick with it.” “His G-spot stimulated by Wyatt’s hard cock…”

*sunbeam bliss* – Chaos

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Linkity lacks comprehensible weather

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Congrats to Courtney S, who won Becoming His by Shawn Lane!

Contests

  • Lynn’s celebrating her blogiversary with a contest – your prize to be determined by whether you knit, quilt, cross stitch, or none of the above. Answer her question in the comments before June 12 for your chance to win.

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  • Petri dish jello (probably guarantees you’ll never have to bring anything to a potluck again).

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Cool

  • Instead of carrying a separate little Swiss army knife on my key chain, I could just put my keys on this clever carabiner.

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

  • Cicada ice cream?! (No longer in production, due to health department concerns.)

LOL

  • What’s your unicorn name? Mine’s Poppy Celestial Pony: “Poppy is quick-witted and bright as a spark. She is as dark as the night sky, and she brings the sunshine and chases away clouds.”
  • xkcd on the cloud. (Make sure you hover your cursor over the comic for additional text.)

Teh Cute

Reading Update
What Happened to Larry Alan? by Dawn Kimberly Johnson. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about a guy who gets hit in the head with a soccer ball and has a chance to change some pivotal events from his past.
Any Closer by Mary Calmes. ebook. Feel-good m/m romance about a good-hearted guy who owns a construction company and finds out something sordid about the past of one of his employees/friends.
The Love of a Mate (Pack Discipline #4) by Kim Dare. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about the pack troublemaker, who’s incredibly suspicious when the beta’s brother begins a subtle pursuit.
The One that Counts by Chrissy Munder. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who’s feeling introspective after his father’s death and shares some things from his past that his partner didn’t know.
Just-You Eyes by Clare London. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy, accompanying his sister to a heterosexual speed dating night to even out the numbers of men and women, who meets a hotel employee and has an uncharacteristic one-night stand.
Cherries on Top by Rowan McAllister. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who doesn’t do relationships, but finds himself unable to resist the sweet, previously straight bartender who takes him home.
Between Friends by Lou Harper. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about two guys who’ve been friends since they were kids. One’s closeted, in deep denial, and the other’s not willing to be his dirty little secret.
We’re Both Straight, Right? by Jamie Fessenden. ebook. Very good m/m romance about two straight college guys who have been best friends for years. When one of them learns how much money they can make doing a “straight guys’ first gay experiences” porn shoot, he convinces the other to do it with him.
A Deadly Kind of Love (Deadly Mystery #6) by Victor J. Banis. ebook. Very good m/m mystery in which Tom and Stanley head to Palm Springs to help a friend who found a dead man in his hotel bed. I must confess that it was refreshing to read a nearly angst-free installment of their story!
Long, Lonely Howl by Lyn Gala. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a YMCA youth counselor who inadvertently finds out about werewolves and has to make some life-changing decisions. Be aware that the ending’s a bit abrupt and is definitely HFN.
Shades of the Past (EMS Heat #9) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good m/m romance about an EMT whose partner and cousin died on the job because she wouldn’t listen to him. He blames himself for her death and isn’t doing very well at all. (I wanted just a bit more in each of the later scenes in the book.)
Bad Company by KA Mitchell. ebook. Good m/m romance about two guys who were friends when they were kids, but haven’t spoken for years… until one decides to piss off his homophobic father and “go gay”. Strangely, he wasn’t the person who needed to be smacked in this book.
About Damn Time by Elizabeth Jewell. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about two guys, close friends and both gay, who’ve never gotten together – but will a bet change that? I was doing ok the story until the sex scene – someone who’s just spent nearly six months restoring a classic car is probably not going to be ok with having sex on the car’s hood, especially with belt buckles flopping all over the place…
Hairy, Horny, and Over Here by J.L. Merrow. ebook short. Very funny m/m story about a photographer and a hunter out looking for jackalopes in the woods on the Isle of Wight. I’d suggest reading this book in conjunction with I’ll Tell You a Secret, Jackalope. 🙂
Pearls Before Swine by Vic Winter. ebook short. Very steamy short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who considers himself very civilized and proper, but has to reconsider after he runs into (literally) a shifter at the museum and invites him over for coffee…
What You Wish For: The Nine of Cups by Alex Marcus-Jacobs. ebook short. reread. Ok short m/m romance about a college student who gets a disconcerting tarot reading, just prior to a life-changing event. The conversations were my main reason for not rating this higher – they were awkward and didn’t feel realistic.
Obsidian (What You Wish For #2) by Alex Marcus-Jacobs. ebook. Ok kinky m/m romance continuing the story of the college student and his older lover/Dom. Like the previous book, this seemed stilted and awkward to me.
Layoffs by Dallas Coleman. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about two guys who get laid off from the same company because others took credit for their work.
Neon Yellow: Obsessive Adhesives by Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a player who starts to see the appeal of the quiet guy from Accounting. Only… who keeps leaving those unnerving post-it messages on the guy’s computer monitor?! I would’ve rated this higher if there hadn’t been some real TSTL moments in it. You know there’s a stalker. You know he’s been following your new boyfriend; in fact, he broke into your boyfriend’s house and completely trashed it (besides leaving those increasingly threatening post-its at work). Why would you decide to get away from the situation and go camping (ie, isolated)? And most especially, why wouldn’t you be completely freaked out when the axe and other items disappeared from the campsite?!?!?
Rushing Towards Perfection by Mya. ebook. Ok kinky m/m romance about two guys who are rushing into a relationship without knowing a lot about each other. This one just didn’t quite work – it felt like sections were missing.
Run With Me by Eden Cole. ebook. Meh m/m romance about the son of a crime boss who keeps running away from his father, even though his father always sends brutes to beat him up and drag him home. But maybe the latest guy who’s tracked him down will be different…
Sex Scene: Take One by Lee Avalone. ebook. Incoherent trainwreck. Any sex scene that has “his large log” in it… no. Just no.

Mutant kitty!!!! O.O

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Yet another linkity post in which there are no llamas

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Congrats to Kate, who won The Love of a Mate (Pack Discipline #4) by Kim Dare! The Love of a Mate will be released by Total-E-Bound on June 6.

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Reading Update
Bob the Book by David Pratt. ebook. Excellent story about a gay book named Bob, as he travels from bookstore to armchair and beyond. It’s also a story about love found and lost, about discrimination and acceptance, about learning and growing… basically about life. Highly recommended.
A.J.’s Angel by LA Witt. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a tattoo artist trying to understand why his cheating ex has shown up in his shop four years later to get a tattoo commemorating a mysterious “A.J.” If the ending of the story had had been longer, this would’ve been five stars for me. Forgiveness happened too fast, then the ensuing struggles were merely alluded to in the epilogue.
As Advertised by Jaime Samms. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who discovers some unpleasant things about his boyfriend at a party before he’s rescued by the hostess. I liked that one of the main characters suffered from migraines (I can relate) and the other suffered from OCD – it made things feel more realistic.
Apples and Regret and Wasted Time by Cornelia Grey. ebook. short. Very good short, poignant m/m story about two men who love each other… but that love isn’t enough in itself. (I love this cover! It really should be on a novel, rather than a short.)
Stranger in Black by Devon Rhodes. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who realizes his boyfriend is cheating on him, so arranges to attend a masquerade ball incognito to see the proof for himself and help himself move on.
Heaven (Heaven Sent #1) by Jet Mykles. ebook. reread. Very good yaoiesque m/m romance about a straight hotel manager who’s surprised by his attraction to some of the male members of a band staying and playing at the hole.
The Wicca Man: Tongue-Tied by Emily Veinglory. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a university professor who’s also a witch. He accidentally uses a love binding spell when defending himself from a vampire attack, then isn’t sure how to free the handsome and enthralled vampire without getting killed. I really enjoyed the sly and smart alecky bits of humor throughout. If anyone knows of a sequel…
Eclipse of the Heart (Eclipse #1) by Emily Veinglory. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a coyote-wolf shifter who moves to a new town with his oblivious-to-the-paranormal human boyfriend and gets caught up in the paranormal politics against his will. This is going to be one that people either love or hate…
Here Comes the Sun (Eclipse #2) by Emily Veinglory. ebook. Pretty good paranormal m/m romance continuing the story of the coyote-wolf shifter and his human boyfriend, told from the boyfriend’s point of view this time. Unfortunately, this felt like a partial story because of how it ended… and there doesn’t seem to be a third book. Not good, since this was published in 2008.
Snared by J.L. Merrow. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a man on a hiking holiday who gets scratched up freeing a wildcat from a trap, not knowing that things aren’t ever going to be the same again.
The Buff Storm Type by Vic Winter. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a guy who writes adventure romances featuring the absolutely perfect man, Buff Storm. Then the writer meets the personification of Buff Storm…
Bachelor Auction by Vic Winter. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a professor participating in a bachelor auction fundraiser who’s surprised both by the amount he brings in and by who bought him.
Jumping the Fence (OC Pride #1) by Stephanie Vaughan. ebook. reread. Good m/m romance about figuring out who you really are and what you need to be happy.
Crossing the Line (OC Pride #2) by Stephanie Vaughan. ebook. reread. Good m/m romance about a guy who owns a lucrative import car repair business. He hasn’t had much luck with love, but that doesn’t stop him from pursuing a handsome, skittish waiter.
Catch Me If I Fall by Riley Knox. ebook. Good m/m romance about a computer programmer who works from home and lusts after the obviously straight divorced dad/construction worker who lives next door.
Bound by Love by Cassidy Ryan. ebook short. Good kinky short m/m romance about an artist who has an informal arrangement with a businessman/Dom, but fears he’s broken the arrangement by falling in love.
Four Days with Jack by Kelli A. Wilkins. ebook. Ok short m/m romance about a guy who’s been in love with his best friend for years, but has been in denial about it. Unfortunately, the writing was choppy and the numerous unclear pronoun references drove me crazy.
When I Dream of You by Mychael Black & Shayne Carmichael. ebook short. So-so short m/m romance about a guy with an abusive father who’s rescued by a sweet-tempered bodybuilder. While this was a storyline with potential, awkward writing and an abrupt, inconclusive ending definitely detracted.
Exceptions to the Rule by Fae Sutherland & Marguerite Labbe. ebook. So-so m/m romance about two unlikely guys (a bartender and a business analyst) getting together. I had a hard time finishing this one – besides the insta-love, the language was of the overwrought, overblown sort that I expect to find in an old-school m/f romance with a swirly pastel cover.
Diamond: Double Cross by Winnie Jerome. Meh paranormal m/m romance about a guy who works for a magic enforcement agency and holds a grudge against the guy who took his virginity over 20 years ago, then vanished. The books was a continuous infodump – all telling and no showing. Of course, with the amount of plot crammed into a completely insufficient number of pages…

“I don’t think I approve of being used to demonstrate photo effects.” -Mayhem

The photo effects today and Tuesday were created at pixlr-o-matic.